CITY AND VILLAGE SQUARES 235 



always bear in mind that every building constructed in a 

 square destroys the park value of the space it occupies, 

 and detracts in just so much from the true esthetic and 

 essential value of the park. Therefore, as I have said be- 

 fore, let there be but a few and necessary constructions, 

 and those of the simplest and most rustic character. 

 The presence of surrounding houses is simply the environ- 

 ment of the park, and that environment is also, and very 

 properly, a part of the problem to be accepted and ac- 

 counted for in the design. 



It is evident that one would not expect to find a bit of 

 tangled woodland glade amid the architectural environ- 

 ment of a city square. Neither would one expect 

 nothing but stone-paved footways, and series of balus- 

 trades, steps, and columns. The way which would com- 

 mend itself most readily to sensible people would be the 

 arrangement, first of all, of considerable level stretches 

 of smooth, green turf, with groups of shrubs and trees, 

 so arranged as to display their individual charms effect- 

 ively, and at the same time managing, in an artful com- 

 bination, to vaguely suggest some such appropriate and 

 beautiful effect as that of a copse in a meadow and a 

 lane in a country home. 



The design of a city square should also, invariably, 

 take into consideration the practical features that will be 

 required to protect the greensward and shrubs, and afford 

 convenient accommodations for promenades and play- 

 ing grounds. Boundary fences, if not fences along the 

 paths, are absolute necessities on squares in crowded 

 districts, and where only their presence will preserve, 

 for any considerable time, the beauty of the park. This 

 is averred with full realization of the efficiency of the 

 police under a good government. When we accept the 



